Too late
by Lady Eivel
Summary: AU. What if Yoda hadn't made to the hangar in time in AOTC? WARNING: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATHS Oneshot. Rating to be safe.


AU Set in the hangar battle in AOTC. What if Yoda didn't get to the jedi in time and Dooku had killed them?

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Anakin and Dooku whirled about the hangar in an intricate flurry of lightsabers. Emotions clashed and swirled through the Force as the pair duelled fiercely. The taunts from Dooku had ended as he concentrated on the battle.

Eventually, Anakin began to tire. Dooku seized this opening eagerly, stepping up his attack with the same elegance and precision as before. He could sense that the brash young man before him would not hold out for much longer if this kept up. True enough, Anakin slipped, failing to catch the blood-red lightsaber as it swung in an arc towards his arm. He cried out in pain as the energy blade seared through material, flesh, muscle and bone like a knife through butter. Dooku extended his hand as Anakin's dropped to the floor. A huge burst of Force lightening crackled around the Jedi, who screamed in agony. A flick of Dooku's hand sent him flying across the hangar. A flick of his other hand launched the lightsaber.

There was no chance it could miss. Anakin was pinned to the wall and the blade was aimed at his heart. Lying on the floor some distance away, Obi-Wan Kenobi could only watch in horror as the saber penetrated his apprentice's chest. Anakin did not even have time to cry out before Obi-Wan felt his Force presence vanish.

"No…" he whispered. This could not be happening. The blade that had killed his apprentice flew back to its owner's hand as the body of the Padawan it had just killed fell to the ground. Kenobi glared at Anakin's murderer, who smirked back.

"You're next _Kenobi_" the regal voice hissed. Dooku flew forward. Obi-Wan could do nothing to stop the arc of the blade as it swung towards his head and within moments he had joined his Padawan.

000

Yoda bent double, clutched his heart. He was in a transport heading swiftly for Anakin, Obi-Wan and Dooku's last known destination, but the 900-year-old Jedi master had a sickening feeling he was too late.

This was confirmed as he stepped inside the hangar to be greeted by the sight of a speeder taking off, leaving two Jedi bodies on the floor. Yoda hung his head. A sad day, it truly was.

After a while, he felt Senator Amidala enter the hangar behind him. He heard her gasp and saw her run to the younger body, sobbing. Yoda did not move. Neither did the body, although Amidala was pleading for it to. After a while, she gave up and simply sobbed. Then he realised something that should have been obvious from the start- Skywalker and Amidala had been in love.

It was too late to worry about that now. It didn't matter- Jedi laws didn't apply to the dead. Yoda's head hung as the day and its events took its toll on him. He'd move later.

000

Padme stood on the transport which bore her towards the hangar which everyone was sure would be where Dooku had gone.

It wasn't Dooku she was worried about. He could go get sucked out of an airlock for all she cared. She was more interested in a certain Jedi Padawan who had been heading that way too.

She had a sickening feeling she was too late.

When they arrived, they were just in time to see Dooku's Solar Sailer blast out of the hanger in a concealed opening above them. They opened fire, but their blasters made little impact on the sleek ship. Padmé had the feeling something was very badly wrong- and where were Ani and Obi-Wan? After all, the two Jedi had gone after the Count- so why was the Count escaping? Padme's imagination leapt into overdrive as she sped into the hangar.

What she saw was her worst nightmare come true. Obi-Wan lay dead near one wall, headless. And Anakin…

She cried out as she saw her love lying utterly still by another wall. Racing over to him, she saw the hole in his chest where a lightsaber had punctured it. Still, she refused to believe he was dead and spent a while trying to wake him. The futility of her efforts and the truth of what had happened hit her harder than the sand had when she'd fallen from the first transport.

"No…" and she broke down in tears.

000

It had been a quiet day on the moisture farm. Without Shmi, everything was silent. The three remaining inhabitants of the Lars farm were still in mourning for the events of the previous day. Cliegg, Beru and Owen sat round the table in silence. No-one said anything except quiet requests for the drink or some other thing like that.

Still, although Shmi had died, they could continue her legacy. So could Anakin- her son. Anakin would have a great future, they were sure, even though he had clearly been devastated by his mother's death.

The holocomm buzzed. Owen wearily got up to answer, wondering why anyone would bother calling the small farm- the other families were also in mourning for the loss of brothers and husbands.

"Owen Lars." A figure appeared on the comm.  
"Hello Owen" the figure- a young woman- seemed upset "You may remember me. I'm Padmé- Anakin's friend."  
"Padmé? Why are you calling now? Is Anakin alright?"  
"Well…" she seemed hesitant, as though it was some terrible news she was about to break "No. He isn't. That's why I called. I hate to break it to you- but… he's…" she took in a deep breath "He's dead, Owen."

"What?" Owen couldn't believe what he was hearing "Why? How?"  
"You remember we took off after receiving a message from Obi-Wan? Well, he needed rescuing. We got to him, but we were captured…" and she recounted the events of the past few hours.

The Lars household stood, or sat, where they were in stunned silence as Padmé relieved her memories leading up to the awful realisation in the hangar.  
"Everyone's in mourning. Obi-Wan was one of the greatest Jedi that's ever lived and Ani was pretty well-known too. I'm really sorry about this."  
Owen took a moment to recover his composure. "No, it's alright. Thanks for telling us." He switched off the holocomm.

000

Dooku stepped off the Solar Sailer. He felt proud. He had, after all, just killed two of the greatest Jedi in the Order. The rest of them wouldn't stand a chance now- not with their 'Chosen One' gone.

He noticed Darth Sidious move out of the shadows towards him. He bowed slightly. His master would surely be pleased with him…

Or maybe not. The next thing he knew, Force Lightening like he had hurled at Skywalker surrounded him. Sidious was screaming at him- what on earth had possessed him to kill Skywalker? What kind of apprentice was he? The torture went on for a good while before Sidious seemed to tire. Dooku, despite his pain, managed to stand up. Rage seethed from every pore. He, Dooku, had done a pretty good job. Sidious had never said Skywalker was to live- so how was he to know> what had he done to deserve this?

He decided that if he could kill a 'Chosen One', he could kill Sidious. Within seconds, Dooku became the only Sith in the galaxy.

A/N Sorry if the last part seems a little weird, please review though!


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